Monday, September 5, 2011

What do I need in ERP and a Trusted Advisor?

I had an interesting conversation with someone new recently and they wanted to know what I do, how I do it and finally what they needed.  Most interesting and importantly, they wanted to know about my company and the business relationships that I maintained (first).  They knew there was so much information available and needed someone to help them wade through those waters.  They also knew that the person they asked for help needed to respect their interests first and foremost.



It is not uncommon today to have many choices in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions.  Gone are the days when Henry Ford was in charge and cars came in any color you wanted as long as they were black.  Sometimes for smaller companies ERP is simply not the answer.  There can be some significant upfront costs associated with any new solution and ERP is no exception.  For smaller companies an ERP solution may not be affordable.  A Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis should be run and reviewed.

It is never an easy decision to add to already overworked people the implementation of a new solution.  An existing solution may not be perfect, but it functions at some level.  Top management needs to learn and know what is coming down the line, manage expectations, and get buy-in from all levels in the organization.  Yes, ALL levels.  Everyone in a company is responsible for making your customers happy, including the guy that pushes the broom.  A company needs to operate as an integrated well oiled machine.  That is the key in an ERP solution.  All departments and people working together utilizing a unified repository of information that drives efficiency across the enterprise.   

There are so many choices out there.  There are many modules to sort through.  What do I need?  What do I want in the future?  Will the software work with my organization?  What is my competition doing?  Do I purchase them all up-front or do I implement the basics first, and then add more modules as I grow?

An organization really needs a trusted advisor that has their best interest at heart.  Someone with experience in their industry and with ERP solutions.  Someone that is willing to put your organization ahead of their own profits. 

The majority of the people and companies that Dolvin works with come from referrals.  This is our highest form of complement.  Someone respects our efforts well enough to give our name to someone else.  We are not perfect, but we always do our best.  You are our customer and our responsibility.  That is not something we take lightly.

Contact us to see how we are different than the organizations you are now working with.

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